Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Amidst a series of pending official work left, my roommate and colleague whisked me off for a visit to the parlour. A meeting that had been long pending. At 3 in the afternoon, in the hot sun, we walked. Ugh...imagine my frustration.

Anyway, while she was inside getting special services, I waited in the lobby, watching other customers get their share of 'feminine' treatment. A mother-daughter duo walked in. They were locals and were not of the upper class strata. The beaming woman sat next to me, while her giggling girl stood against the recently-done wall cabinets. She was ebony-toned, dressed in garish green salwar-kameez. (I do not discriminate on the basis of colour, just merely describing the scene.) Another client had been in line, but the owner attended the girl first. “Shaam ko ladke vaale dekhne aa rahe hain,” her mother said. Are you serious! It had been near 15 minutes and no one had even heard her speak! Jeez! Politely, the customer who was due stepped aside and the entire conversation changed to marriage.

After a few questions and quick replies, I realised that she was just 16! And already she had people coming over to see her. What is it with the world? I obviously looked the other way, careful that no one see my shocked expressions. (I have often received criticism for my expressions. My mother says some make me look very snooty. Whatever, I'm actually a different person inside. Very genuine :))

But that was not the end of the topic for me for that day. When I reached office, and settled into my little corner, my boss read out a status of a former professor and dean of my college. Summarised, he spoke of how it seemed he wasted hours teaching a student, who worked briefly in a media organisation, but now has been taking care of her husband and child. Point noted, so the only conclusion I draw, is that, does marriage ruin everything? Also, when one does enter into matrimony and build a family, then there are two possibilities that come up. Either she works hard at her job, then people allege that she neglects her family or she is made to choose one over the other. Why?

When people cannot handle the drama in their lives, they should just delete the number of characters.

Monday, May 7, 2012

One sits listlessly in office, swatting at flies no can see, catching a few winks in between chai breaks. This was something I did not perceive would ever occur to me. Like everyone else, I dreamt of a profession that pays, sends you on trips and possibly kept you within the confines of an office, as little as possible. And I still dream on. Journalism. Sounds like a snazzy job to be doing, but truthfully, part of it can become quite monotonous. Resting your bum on a chair, for 6 hours! Heck I definitely did not dream of this.

And just as sure I was about my job, I was about ebooks. They suck. I was never in favour of new technologies like the Kindle. I'm pretty old school when it comes to books. For me, the touch, the feel and the flipping of pages added to the entire experience of a book. Every time I bought a new book, I plunged my face within its pages and would smell the pages. If it was a second hand book, then the yellowed pages would draw me closer. It was just something else you could not argue with.

But with spending six hours in front of your office desktop, wasting atleast half that amount felt criminal. Till, I discovered the real joy of reading an ebook.

I had started Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, but something better came along the way. Do not misunderstand me. Do not assume that I am degrading Salman Rushdie, its just that his book was not ideal for an office environment. One must ruminate, ponder over and patiently digest his words. But, for me, Michael Crichton, or Stephen King can be gulped down. They hold your focus, till they suck the life force out of you. And before I knew it, I had finished, Pet Cemetary and The Shining by Stephen King, and Sphere and Airframe by Michael Crichton, and currently reading Disclosure by the same author. Where earlier I had thought that office had killed the insatiable thirst for books, I just discovered a way around it. The link below is a treasure trove of long lost books! And the book 'Do Androids dream of electric sheep' is available!!!http://www.freebooks2u.com/